The Factory

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LETTER FROM BOSTON about the Pacific Rim charter school. A year ago in September, a burly 17-year-old from Roxbury, Massachusetts, named Rousseau Mieze, wanted to go to college. A child of poor Haitian immigrants, he is a senior at the Academy of the Pacific Rim, a charter-school, located in a former factory. His S.A.T. scores were above the national average, but his cumulative G.P.A. was low. In the 7 years since it opened, Pacific Rim, which serves 6th to 12th graders, has been driven further and further from the hub of Boston by rising rents; it now sits in Hyde Park. More than 3,000 charter schools have sprung up in the U.S. since 1991. Of those institutions, Pacific Rim is the oddest. It was the inspiration of a Chinese-American dentist named Robert Guen, who wanted to start a small school for Asians, marked by discipline, character education, and compulsory Tai Chi and Mandarin Chinese classes. When the school opened in 1997, it proved more popular than they’d anticipated, attracting African-American and Haitian-immigrant students en masse. In 2003, all 11 students in the school’s inaugural graduating class passed the state math-and-literacy competency tests on the first try; all now attend a 4-year college. By September of 2003, there were 330 students, and the faculty absorbed this growth with both pride and fear. Talks to school director Spencer Blasdale. Due to budget cuts, Boston has become emblematic of the futility of American efforts to achieve educational equity. Blasdale’s poorly paid teachers work in spite of, not because of, market incentive. Of the 24 seniors last September, Blasdale felt confident about the college prospects of six. Of the seniors, the lead resister was Dwayne, who, in class, preferred to shrug and sleep. Blasdale pointed to Rousseau as a true transformation. In his first years at the school, he’d been frequently disciplined. Describes Rousseau’s interaction with his classmates, Sarabina and Marcus, during a morning science lesson. Mentions teacher David Wood, who encouraged Rousseau. When he wanted to, Rousseau could make a good argument. But even after he found religion, his teachers couldn’t account for the days or weeks when his motivation drained away. Mentions English teacher Patrick McAllister. Describes teacher Elizabeth Weston’s interaction with a new class of 6th graders who’d won the admissions lottery. Each student has an academic adviser, who follows the child’s progress from grade to grade. Teachers spend nearly a quarter of their work lives tutoring and counseling students. The teachers gather at Wednesday-afternoon faculty meetings and discuss a long list of “students of concern.” The dilemma of Pacific Rim was that teachers who loved working with kids tended to leave the school and have some of their own before long. The faculty worried about demanding too much from the students and ruining their chances at college admissions. Respite from academics came after lunch, when students helped clean the cafeteria. Mentions college counselor Doreen Kelly-Carney. Describes Rousseau’s interviews with the Posse Foundation, which helps urban high-school kids get into selective colleges. Describes a discussion of Thoreau by a reluctant student and his adviser, Alexander Phillips. Tells about Rousseau’s speech before the conservative Pioneer Institute. He feared that he was perpetuating a superficial African-American success stereotype that might be held against kids who lacked his opportunities. Lists the colleges Rousseau’s classmates got into. Describes the tensions between school kids and the residents of the white, middle-class neighborhood near the school. Most of the Pacific Rim seniors did very well-even Dwayne. Rousseau was less fortunate: he was accepted at St. John’s, but offered little financial aid. Unfortunately, within 3 weeks of graduation, Dwayne would suffer 2 gunshot wounds and be sent to jail.